SUMMERDALE, Ala. — Its shouldn’t be long before Summerdale’s Seventh Street is back to the way it was before the April flood event.

During its regular meeting last week, the Summerdale Council awarded the contract to repair the street to Bill Patterson Construction for $27,839.

“I’m pleased with the numbers that came in,” Mayor David Wilson said.

However, Summerdale resident Ray Harris was not pleased when the Council members said the town could not use public funds to repair the culvert in his driveway.

“There’s a pothole in my driveway,” he said, explaining that it was caused by the April flood.

However, Wilson told Harris that the town cannot use public funds to repair private property.

“It’s a state law,” he said.

Harris said he didn’t understand why the town spent funds to conduct similar repairs “up the street” but couldn’t repair his driveway culvert.

“Isn’t that a right of way?” he asked.

Wilson explained that while it is a right of way, maintaining the driveway is the property owner’s responsibility.

The mayor went on to ask whether Harris applied to the Federal Emergency Management Agency for individual disaster relief. To which Harris said he had.

“What did they tell you?” Wilson asked.

Harris said FEMA had denied his claim.

“There’s nothing anybody on this Council can do,” Wilson said.

However, the mayor did offer to bring his own tools and personally help Harris with repairs.

“I’m kind of offended,” Harris replied. “I don’t want you to come help me with anything — period.”

Wilson reiterated that although Council members could help Harris personally, public funding could not be used.

“I cannot understand that you cannot understand,” the mayor said to Harris.

This wasn’t the first time Harris approached the Council. In the spring of 2013, he proposed the town fly a Confederate flag on the flagpole situated at the “Welcome to Summerdale” sign.

At that time, Harris said he would provide the flag, which contained a red field and blue cross with white stars housed on the top left corner against a white field and red bar on the right. Although he said that the flag had not flown during the Confederacy but is used in some places in modern times, his proposal died for a lack of motion.